Dear Miss Lee,

Your endeavor may be a laudable one with great promise...but you have got to come to the realization that THE CITY is the taxpayer. Although you have to ASK the Commission for permission, it is the citizen who pays the tab.

We have been shortchanged for the last 10 years or more on infrastructure improvements with OUR $$$$, so, in these tight times, the room for more indiscriminate spending is simply not there.

Please....continue with your private efforts to raise capital for your project....but give the taxpayer a break.

Best of Luck to the new commission board. It is not an easy job, we appreciate all you have done for Community Roots, and look to the future with hope. We need to focus on positive things, fore, what we focus on expands!

TO SOUTH FLORIDA REDNECK

SEEMS YOU DON'T LIKE ANY OF THE LAKE HELEN BUSINESS PEOPLE, OR THE WISHES OF THE MAJORITY OF LAKE HELEN RESIDENTS. IN STEAD OF TRYING TO RESHAPE LAKE HELEN TO YOUR LIKES OR DISLIKES, WHY DON'T YOU AND YOUR REDNECK WAYS AND BUDDIES JUST GO BACK TO SOUTH FLORIDA. PLEASE, WE WILL NOT MISS YOU.

Hey Redneck,

If you are truly from S. Fl. that would explain a great deal....yeah, S. Fl. a place where your elected reps can't seem to keep their hands off of young boys or can't be faithful to their wives. Intelligent, informed voters you got there.

Who the **** moves to a place based on the type of elected Gov't.?

Well, I digress, I would never again move to a place ( 15 years here ), that has as it's main bone of contention it's local Gov't. We are surely giving Deltona a run for it's money in the lack of integrity Dept.

As for Snowden's speaking....for God's sake man, LISTEN....he never says more than 10 words when he does weigh in, always piggybacking on someone else"s statements....yeah that's a man with conviction.

Well I went out of town for a few days and now Im back. Looks like the Hate Squad is back at work on here. I live in Lake Helen because of what is has to offer as a City with its own City government. My fishing budy lives in the County and is very unhappy and is looking for a place in Lake Helen. I can not say what William Snowden did or did not say in meetings when Mr. Shuttleworth was mayor. I only started listening to meetings when they were put online. I find Mr. Snowden to be level headed and a good representative for the people of Lake Helen. Mr. Findell appears to be on top of most things and appears to be doing a good job. The only true circus I see is allowing people who can not even vote here influence the direction of a commission vote. I do not and will not support doing away with our City government. If you wish to live in the County controlled area, please move. Leave the rest of us alone, we like what we have here. I have respect for those who came before us and made Lake Helen what it is. I did not move here to change it, I moved here with my wife to embrace it. Most of you on here are the ones that are making Lake Helen look bad, not the people you are going against. The business owners who are involved in this campaign against the City are the biggest idiots I have ever seen. I make it a point to tell everyone I can not to use the verious businesses that are involved in this negative campaign. I have been taking my fishing buddy around looking at homes in town and I have steered him away from every home and property that has a local sign in front of it. When he ends up buying that will be fifteen to twenty thousand less that a local realtor would have gotten. If my buddy buys property and has a home built, I will steer him away from the local builders who are involved and if he needs a place to stay while his home is being built I will steer him away from the B&B's involved. "Open mouth and insert foot".

Cognizant is sooooo right.

All you have to do is listen to William Snowden......" this City will fold w/o Findell". Snowden was, and still is a Shuttleworth crony. Remember "The Three Amigos" in the last Mayoral election ? ( Shuttleworth, Long & Snowden )

Does anyone who blogs here actually go to or listen to the minutes of meetings?

Snowden once said he had to stick with the "courage of his conviction", on NOT hiring a City employee into the teen program, part time, (1) week after this employee quit full time work with the City Utilities Dept...after begging by Shuttleworth, Snowden's courage and conviction flew out the window, and the hiring was done.

Is anyone else embarrassed when these clowns step outside of this enclave and represent the City's name ? My God, what must other people think of us? We are not all illiterate old fools with an I.Q. less than 120.

New requirement : In order to run for City office....pass a 7th grade civics course, along with a 10th grade grammar course, AND be proficient in basic computer operation.

UN-INCORPORATE ! ! ! ! SAVE US $$$$$$$$$$

If you love our present City Administrator & are happy with his approximately $137,000/year salary & spending into reserves, VOTE FOR BUDDY SNOWDEN, his MOST avid supporter!!!

The best thing that could happen for Lake Helen residents would be for the city to become unincorporated. The county would provide better services and maintenace. PLUS!!

Your property taxes would be less.

Lake Helen City Hall is local government run amuck.

Hey Donny:

Under the terms of a triple net lease, in additon to a base rent, the rentor pays their proportionate additional amounts for maintenance, taxes, etc. The tax bill maybe addressed to the property owner, but the tenants pay the taxes seperate from the base rent. This is becoming a standard commerical lease agreement.

Hey Donny,

Why would I ( a Realist) not RealEst, want to run for any office in this town when my solution is......Un-incorporate. We keep the name but remove the middle man from reaching into our pocket and simply deal with the County.

It probably won't be long, since we are constantly operating in the red, that the state will rescind the incorporation due to bankruptcy.

If everyone who is employed or elected is so good at what they do, surely someone would hire & pay them what this small towns pays NOT !!!

Well I am back from fishing and a nap and I see you people are still going at it. Donny there is one thing good about the lady, if that is what you wish to refer to her as, from Deland running off at the mouth. We now know who we will not call upon when we wish to sell our homes or our proporties. I tell everyone that I run into not to deal with her and I tell them how loud, obnoxious, and rude she is. I chuckle a bit every time I see realty sign from an out of town company in front of a property here in Lake Helen. This lady has burned many bridges here in town. She will not be in business much longer if she keeps it up. She has the freedom to speak and we have the freedom not to use her business and to tell everyone about her. So speak on oh rude one and we will continue to speak about you to everyone we talk to and we will let them know all about you. I know of four customers she has lost because of her mouth and I am sure there are many more. Callahan Realty must love this lady. I understand that Callahan Realty owns property in Lake Helen and I don't recall ever hearing anyone from Callahan Realty speaking at the meetings. So people CALL-CALLAHAN and leave the complaining to the other lady. For now I have bigger fish to fry and I mean that literally. They were sure biting this morning. Maybe Ill go harpoon a manatee later this afternoon for dinner tomorrow, just kiding they have to much fat and they are not good eatin. They can be fun to watch graze, they look a fat lady at a buffet. That thought brings an idea to mind. Duffy should setup a buffet at every meeting for the audience. This will keep some in the audience busy grazing and away from the podium. This will save me from having to listen to meetings for hours on end. I often fall asleep and have to start the recording all over again a few times before I can hear the entire meeting. Well my oil is hot and I must go. So long for now and happy fighting. Ms. Duffy think about the buffet idea please.

Moderate LH resident,

Help me out here. If I'm renting or a leasee, that means I'm a paying property taxes, not the property owner?????? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last I knew it was the property owners responsbility to pay the taxes. I don't see that she owns any property in Lake Helen per the

Volusia County Property Appraiser's site !Sorry I was off by 10.00 on the business license, but my point was made.

In regards to freedom of speech. I don't have a problem with that. It would be nice if she had something positive to say and not be disruptive during the meeting while someone else is talking. She never has anything positive to say. Maybe she should consult with Miss Manners. She would tell her that it's rude to talk when someone else is speaking!

You still haven't answered my question. Why don't you run for Mayor and solve all our problems.

Have a good day,

off to work

Hay Donny:

FYI a Lake Helen Business license is $30.00. Also, the lady from DeLand who has a business in Lake Helen under a triple net lease pays a portion of the property tax on the property where her business is located.

Once again, lets keep to the facts! Your distortions of the truth expose your real intentions. Oh, and of a matter of fact, the the United States Constitution provides under Amendment 1 every citizen the freedom of speech. Are you implying that the lady from DeLand who has a business in Lake Helen and pays taxes in Lake Helen should be denied her consititutional rights? Shame on you!

Hey "A moderate LH resident",

Like I said before, ther is still time for you and others to run for Mayor and fix all our problens !!!!!!!

So many people have the answers but just complain over and over again about the same old stuff. If you are to keep on complaining, could you please get some new material. I'm just sick and tired of you and others complaining about the same old stuff for the last 3 years. Please get a life, job, hobby or something. The lady from Deland does not pay property tax in this city, All se pays is a small fee (20.00)for a business license. If she is so unhappy about the way the city is run, she should o us all a favor and MOVE!!!!!!!

I don't know what you are talking about A Moderate LH resident. I listen to every meeting online and I have heard many from the audience speaking. I don't go to the meetings because I am normally in bed by eight or so. I hope you people get all of this figured out. I guess our votes will tell who we want. As for the outsider, I have been glad not to hear any more from her in a while. Maybe she was on vacation or maybe she is going to meetings in Deltona now. I am sure that they can use her help. Happy Arguing!!! It will be low tide soon so I am headed to the beach to go fishing.

Honestly Donny and Redneck,

Lets keep to the facts. Mayor Duffy has been less than honest with the community. As chair of the commission meetings she is the clown of the circus.

You claim she began serving in office without a city clerk, city admin and finance manager.

Hmm, then why was the city paying $48.00 an hour to Jeanie, $130,000.+ a year to Don Findell, and Janet her salary?

Please advise what other city in Florida of 2,600 residents pays their city manager/adim $130,000.+ a year.

As for the lady from DeLand who expresses her concerns at the commision meetings, why should a business owner in Lake Helen not espress themselves to the commission? Seems most Lake Helen residents are afraid of retaliation from the commission and Lake Helen Police Department if they speak up.

Your smoke and mirrors comments can not hide the facts!

Honestly Realest,

What would you have done that was any different. If you think you could do a better job, then why don't you run for mayor!!!!There's still time to submit your paperwork or are you just like some of the others that like to blow smoke from your computer. Come on, step up to the plate and solve all of our city's problems, Seems to me that you have all the answers, NOT!!!!!!!!

Hopefully whoever does get elected mayor will claim the office back from the current "mayor for life", Don Findell.

Lake Helen needs to be led by its elected officials, not its paid clerks...

Let me get this straight....."Donny" feels Duffy has done a great job ? The first 8 months of her 2 year term were spent negotiating Findell's resignation, and the next 4 were spent undoing it....Yeah, that's progress ! Whether you like Findell or not, the Mayor wasted time & money ( 1 YEAR ) that could have been better spent on something FOR the taxpayer.

Read the City Observer...her accomplishments are far and few between....she got nothing done that wasn't already in it's final stages when she took office.

The audio minutes @ the Clerks website says it all.....she has no business "leading" a meeting, let alone a City with a $2,5M budget.

Annoy a Liberal...argue with Facts & Logic !

I agree with redneck, Duffy has done a great job. She did not have alot to work with when she was first elected, no city clerk, finance manager, city admin. She spent numerous hours at city hall trying to help keep the city running. I beleive that there are still a few people out there who would like these positions filled for there personal gain. They don't really care about what happens to Lake Helen just as long as they can benefit.

As far as a new mayor, Buddy would be good, is Mark interested?

As far as Robbins, what a big disappointment. All she has done is correct minutes and be a puppet for a select few in the community. Her people skills are poor and will not get my vote again. I hope whoever runs they will have Lake Helen's best interest at heart.

Speak for yourself redneck. We need honesty and integrity in all of our local governments. This means each seat holder would act impartially throughout his term and this simply has not happened in Lake Helen. It's more comedy than government. Thanks for the show folks.

We will miss Duffy she was a good mayor but I also like that Snowden fella he has also done a good job and would make a fine mayor. Call it a circus if you will, Lake Helen has always been a little different and we like it just fine that way. I am glad that Duffy changed her mind about Findell. That man has done good for Lake Helen. If you think Findell is over paid, go find out how many in the County are being paid what we are paying him and more. Findell has done alot to keep Lake Helen just the way we like it. I have always found Findell to be friendly and helpful. Without Findell the developers would have destroyed Lake Helen. We don't need to make any drastic changes. Everything is just fine the way it is. Robbins is just fine as a commissioner, Snowden would be a good mayor, and Findell is just fine as our administrator. All we need to do is find a good person that does not want to come in and cause problems to fill Snowden's commission seat. Lake Helen does not need any more rebel rousing and we certainly don't need that lady from Deland coming into any more of our meetings telling our mayor and commissioners how to run our City. We should be glad that we have good people willing to serve us.

What a complete waste of tax payer money to hold elections this often. Lake Helen Government is still a circus and its costing the tax payers a lot of money! Maybe someone ought to knock a little sense into some heads.